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readingsponsoredbybts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, War, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, Classism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Medical content, Deportation, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Cancer, and Homophobia
rit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Miscarriage, Stalking, Cancer, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Ableism, Alcohol, Abortion, and Addiction
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There were just too many characters, especially given that the book already covers a very long period of time and many generations of a family. I really think that some characters were just unnecessary additions and we could have done without their perspectives, so that more space could be given to the main ones. All the jumping between so many different points of view just made it hard to become invested.
Moreover, very big and even traumatic events are just briefly explored or worse just mentioned in passing. This character died, this one entered a relationship , and so-and-so did that, well good for them, am I supposed to care? There is no groundwork, how can a reader get attached to these people and their stories when you as an author have given them so little? Well there was time to go on and on about George Elliot's novels but no time to delve into a main character' emotions, I guess.
I was just not a fan of how the author portrayed the characters, if there isn't a good handling of their depictions then the story just turns into an over-the-top soap opera.
I found interesting the setting and the overall theme (exploring the lives of Korean people and their descendants living in Japan) but I was not that impressed with the execution itself.
For its length, the book is quite easy to get through, the chapters are not too long, the pace is quite fast and the narrative style is readable enough. Still, the writing style is nothing much to talk about, overall it's a bit too much dry and matter-of-fact for my taste.
All in all, the premise sounded good but the book was a disappointment for me and the three-star rating is basically only for the first section, the rest I'm wilfully choosing to ignore.
Graphic: Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Alcoholism, Ableism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Suicide, Religious bigotry, War, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Trafficking, and Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness, Child death, Physical abuse, Infertility, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Blood, Rape, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Torture, Car accident, Abortion, and Body shaming
oatmilkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Xenophobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
rain_bellin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Police brutality, War, Grief, Suicide, Cancer, Torture, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Trafficking and Rape
Minor: Alcoholism
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Cancer, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Confinement, Classism, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Car accident, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, Rape, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Blood, Alcoholism, and Abortion
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Prose: 4.5 ★
Pace: 4 ★
Concept/Execution: 4.5 ★/5 ★
Characters: 5 ★
Worldbuilding: 5 ★
Ending: 4 ★
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Colonisation, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abortion, Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Cancer, Alcohol, Body shaming, and War
Minor: Infertility, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Deportation, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, and Trafficking
ok7a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Sexual content, Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Incest and Alcohol
Minor: Infertility, Addiction, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicide
emmagold21's review against another edition
Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, and Death of parent
madanxiety's review against another edition
4.5
However, because it covers so much, I was shocked at how subtly Lee reveals important updates about long-standing characters. At one point, a character dies, and that information is (as far as I could tell - I replayed it three times) only provided when a side character refers to his wife as a widow in passing. In this way, the omniscient narration is very interesting, but it also leads to some confusion. Being a lover of literature, though, I do like when a book kind of makes me work for it.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: War, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Rape and Infertility